I think it’s important to note that NONE of these guys will get nary a sniff from the Bills unless one of our six linebackers gets injured. That’s as close to a promise about this team as I can make.

Rocky Boiman is the most interesting name out there from where I am sitting. He is a former 4th round pick out of Notre Dame. At 6’4’’ and 236 pounds he has a great frame that he has kept lean to stay quick and be a contributer on special teams. He was drafted by Tennessee and played 4 years there before spending the last two years in Indy. I think he would quickly become the best backup outside linebacker on the team (wouldn’t be tough to beat out Costanzo and Corto) and would be able to match or excede any special teams contributions that the current guys will make. I would prefer Boiman on the roster over Bryan.

Brian is right though. The Bills have no intention of adding another linebacker as things stand now. The long term answer will depend on how Ellison plays.

If Ellison is terrible:
The Bills will obviously look for an immediate replacement. Pretty much every FA who plays linebacker next year plays inside. Guys like Ray Lewis, James Farrior and Mike Peterson are big names, but will price themselves out of Buffalo when they get paid like the stud MLBs that they are. The two outside linebackers who might be worth looking at are Miami’s Channing Crowder and Seattle’s LeRoy Hill. James Laurinaitis and Brian Cushing are two first round names to remember and Darry Beckwith, Brandon Spikes, Marcus Freeman, Aaron Curry and Gerald McRath are all 1-3 round guys who could potentially start right away too.

If Ellison is OK:
Say Keith turns out to be decent, but not the long-term solution then the Bills can back off LB just a bit. Ellison is an RFA after the season and can be brought back with a reasonable offer sheet. You draft someone in the first to third round (probably off the list above) and let them grow into the starting role while Ellison performs well enough to not make you throw your beer at the TV.

If Ellison breaks out:
You sign the man. Give him a 3-4 year contract. The going rate for LBs has been very reasonable around the league so you lock him up. The Bills will have Ace Bowen returning from injury and DiGi is an RFA too. You draft an athletic kid in the middle rounds who can excel on specials and has potential to be an above average starter at some pont.

what anyone thinks about playing more nickel and dime and relying more on sure tackling DBs who swarm to the ball in droves. I know its not ideal to depend on DBs stopping TEs and RBs, but if they are sure tackling and hard hitting, and swarm in huge numbers, it could be an effective strategy. They key is to prevent long drives. It’s when you have long sustained drives that the big RBs and TEs wear down the DBs.

I like Ellison and the coaching staff and tend to trust them. I think he’ll be fine if the D-Line is above average and reduces the work load on the LBs. In years past, the burden has fallen to the LBs to hold things up. But if the line can be more stout and disruptive, the LBs and DBs can do more and they are less exposed.

BTW, didn’t one of those Jimmy Johnson Dallas superbowl teams live off nickel and dime defenses? I seem to recall that he did everything to get those packages out there.